>> Sow the whirlwind and then wonder at the darts piercing everything dear. <<
Yes, exactly.
>> One very telling thing I read (I don't have a citation) talked about getting ready to build schools to deal with the Boomers. And they bald faced were given a choice, about building as they had, buildings that could take what comes, or doing it cheaper with the knowledge that the buildings would wear out, would fail in planned obsolescence and only a wrecking ball or a bulldozer would solve them. <<
I'm not surprised that people took the cheaper choice. It shows how much they think of the kids, and the future.
>> These decisions came to roost in the 80s and 90s. <<
That's part of what spurred the school merger movement. The catch is, when you make schools and classes bigger, you create problems. There will always be some troublemakers, typically around 1 in 10. If you have a school of 200, there are about 20 troublemakers. At a class size of 12 or so, there's only one; at 20, likely 2. Those are manageable numbers. Make the school 2000 and you have 200 troublemakers, enough for several gangs and a serious problem. In a class of 30 or 40 kids, there are 3-4 troublemakers, more than one adult can control and have time left for anything else. In a small school, it's easier for adults to intervene before problems turn serious. In a large school, things can spiral out of hand quickly and severely. The troublemakers have more influence over students who would otherwise behave better.
Re: Is there such a thing as a "perfect mistake"?
Yes, exactly.
>> One very telling thing I read (I don't have a citation) talked about getting ready to build schools to deal with the Boomers. And they bald faced were given a choice, about building as they had, buildings that could take what comes, or doing it cheaper with the knowledge that the buildings would wear out, would fail in planned obsolescence and only a wrecking ball or a bulldozer would solve them. <<
I'm not surprised that people took the cheaper choice. It shows how much they think of the kids, and the future.
>> These decisions came to roost in the 80s and 90s. <<
That's part of what spurred the school merger movement. The catch is, when you make schools and classes bigger, you create problems. There will always be some troublemakers, typically around 1 in 10. If you have a school of 200, there are about 20 troublemakers. At a class size of 12 or so, there's only one; at 20, likely 2. Those are manageable numbers. Make the school 2000 and you have 200 troublemakers, enough for several gangs and a serious problem. In a class of 30 or 40 kids, there are 3-4 troublemakers, more than one adult can control and have time left for anything else. In a small school, it's easier for adults to intervene before problems turn serious. In a large school, things can spiral out of hand quickly and severely. The troublemakers have more influence over students who would otherwise behave better.